I think I'm a part of the first generation of journalists to skip print media entirely, and I've learned a lot these last few years at Forbes. My work has appeared on TVOvermind, IGN, and most importantly, a segment on The Colbert Report at one point. Feel free to follow me on Twitter or on Facebook, write me on Facebook or just email at paultassi(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm also almost finished with my sci-fi novel series, The Earthborn Trilogy.

Did the Real Mass Effect 3 Ending Go Over Everyone's Heads?

Mass Effect 3 has been derided since its release as having an unsatisfying and spectacularly bad finale that has disappointed fans of the otherwise phenomenal series. But now a new conspiracy theory is circling the internet, and if proven true, could mean that this terrible ending is actually pretty incredible, and we were all just too blind to see it.

The “proof” comes in the form of a collection of internet postings and a new definitive “Loose Change” style video which aims to show how we’ve all missed the point. I’ll post it for you below, and though it clocks in at twenty minutes, if you’re a fan, it’s definitely a must watch.

I won’t summarize it in full (obvious spoilers ahoy), but the general idea is that in reality, the entire ending sequence is occurring in your character’s mind. The bad guys of the series, the Reapers, are attempting to “indoctrinate” Commander Shepard, a process they use to seduce powerful figures into helping their cause, and the final choice you make is either you accepting or resisting their influence.

The details are small at first, but they start to snowball, and by the end, the theory doesn’t sound so crazy anymore. It explains many aspects of the game that are otherwise out of place. Shepard’s visions of a lost child, the fact that he winds up with an injury he supposedly inflicted on another, the two second sequence that shows him stirring in earthbound rubble at the end. And a fact not mentioned in the video, that your last save in the game allows you replay the alleged dream sequence if you made the “wrong” choice from the exact moment reality supposedly ends.

And I did in fact make the “wrong” choice according to this, and I was disturbed when I realized that two of the three options, controlling the Reapers and combining organic and synthetic life, were also the aims of the indoctrinated Illusive Man and Saren respectively. Uh oh.

What is not made clear in this theory, or the video, is what the scenes mean AFTER the decision is made. As discussed before, they all more or less show variants of the same scene, giving little or unclear resolution to Shepard’s actions. This is the sequence that upset people the most, and the video explains it away as “hopeful visions,” but that’s not exactly satisfying either.

It is also entirely plausible that the ending is not metaphorical at all. That everything happened the way we thought it did and Bioware really did drop the ball. But further evidence against this straightforward view is that Bioware has not screwed up the story up until this point, and the “indoctrination theory” being true would prove they’re smarter than all of us.

But the fact is, true or not, the indoctrination theory is a win for Bioware. Even if it’s not what they intended, enough pieces are there where if they came out and said it was true, people would believe them. They now have a way out, as they can now appropriate the theory as something they planned all along, even if that wasn’t the case.

If it really was what they had in mind, it would be a master storytelling move viewed from one angle, as it’s a huge mind-bending twist for players that was too high concept for almost everyone who played. But when you stop and consider it, the decision to handle such a twist the way they did would remain creatively atrocious. I’ve recently speculated that the “sameness” of the endings is really a plot to sell more DLC, as if there were three different, complete endings, that wouldn’t be in the cards. The fact is, even if the last sequence is the indoctrination process, it’s still a gut punch to fans to cut out a true ending, and sell it later as DLC, which I now believe has been their intention all along.

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Very good article Mr. Tassi. I agree whole heartedly that this is Biowares best opportunity to make something truly spectacular even if it wasn’t their original intention. As it stands, leaving this game’s ending with a deus ex machina resolution completely ruins any viability of it being considered art if, in the future, scholars do recognize the video game medium as such.

Had bioware ever been shown to be able to pull anything like this off? No. I like the Indoctrination theory, but it’s all speculation, and you better believe the Bioware is going to steal it, and say all shift eyed ‘ya…..we planned for this the whole time….(holy crap that’s a brilliant plot, why did we not come up with that and instead base the ending around that Gas station slushie machine!)’

Many fans already thought of and provided evidence for the Dream/Indoctrination theory. This did not go over our heads.

As you point out, if that was their intent, when Shepard woke up in rubble, the game should have continued. If they had planned to have us experience content in DLC to show what truly happened after Shepard fought off the indoctrination, that will a worse PR nightmare for Bioware. It may even lend more credence to the current outstanding FTC complaint about “false advertising.” I bought a game that promised to deliver an ending to Shepard’s story and the Reaper war. If I am now asked to pay more money to see that happen, yes, I will feel ripped off now and become one of the angry masses.

I wish Bioware had simply used the approach they have in their past excellent games like Dragon Age Origins and Jade Empire. Provide an Epilogue that tells you the outcome of some of your major decisions and gives you updates on your key characters. Personally, I did not want a happy ending. I just wanted an ending that made sense and truly was the conclusion for my Shepard.